How clean do you leave the villas?

[sophielab1]

This question came up this week between my wife and myself. We had our first DVC stay at OKW and during our packing my wife asked what we had to do in regards of cleanup. I wasn't sure. I know that they come in and do a complete cleanup.
So it got me thinking.
How much do you clean up if any before you leave. I hate leaving a place a mess, so I cleaned the dishes and wiped down the counters and picked up.
Also how much do you leave for mousekeeping?
Thanks for any input.

[Cyndibear]

We usually put dishes in dishwasher and turn it on, take out the trash, strip the beds, and pile the towels in the tub. I try to keep the place clean during our stay, it's just DH and I so we don't get it too messy.

Cyndi

[2disneydads]

We clean up a bit, pile all the towels in one spot, put all the dishes and serving ware in the dishwasher, bag up the trash and recycling, remove most of our accumulated papers and things and try to straighten up whatever we have disorganized. We do this at whatever timeshare resort we have visited. We usually leave $10 for the mousekeepers, but this will vary depending on if we have had extra special service or if our children have made a mess.

[2disneydads]

Sorry, duplicate.

[dallastxcpa]

We do the general clean up as others have said. In addition, we cook many meals in the villa and always wind up with left over groceries. We clean out the fridge and throw out things that were opened. If there are things we can pass on such as soda cans, an unopened bag of chips, etc. we will gather all that and we usually leave it in the laundry room with a note saying we are leaving it for others.

One trip we got to the airport with a couple of bottles of liquor that we couldn't take with us. I asked the skycap if he wanted them and you would have thought I had offered him a bag of gold. Boy did we get great service with the airline that day.

[jdg345]

We usually tidy up a bit, general clean up as others have mentioned. I figure that the better shape we leave it in, the more likely our dues stay low. ;)

[Mrs.Milo]

I like to think that because I tidy up a bit, the next DVC family will get in their room a little earlier....always a nice way to start a trip

[moredisneyplease]

I see a lot of the same things posted here that I do:

strip the bed, pile of towels, take out the trash, load and start dishwasher, wipe counters and oven, all tables and chairs back in their place, nothing left on the balcony, etc.

I agree that the sooner the mousekeepers are done with their job the sooner the next family can get in there and enjoy!!!

[mikaj3645]

I always leave towels in the tub, dishwasher loaded and on, counters wiped down, coffee maker cleaned out and pot in the dishwasher. I do the recycling and bag up the trash, clean out fridge, etc.

I also do a once over of the villa to check for stuff left behind. I figure, as an owner, the better care I take of stuff, the better condition my next villa will be in when I check in!!

Cathy:thumbsup2

[Corinne]

We (or shall I say I ;) ) keep the place pretty tidy during our stay. We do the usual things such as leave the towels in one space, load dishwasher, trash, recyclables. I have never stripped the beds....I honestly have to say that it has never occurred to me to do so.

[AKV707]

We have only had one DVC stay so far. But we approached it the same Way we approach a hotel stay,but even with more care. We always say that we want it to look like we were never there.

This thread has been great, as we have a 1 br stay coming up. We will definitely do many of the things mentioned here. As has been said, if we all do this, it will be better for all of us when we check in.

[Muushka]

We also do everything that we can to make it easier for the cleaning lady. Well, everything but vacuming. I hate that loud noise in the AM.

Like everyone else, I think it helps the next member to get into the villa sooner and helps keep MF down.:thumbsup2

[rcgal2]

I make sure all trash is picked up & recyclables are in the proper bin. I make a pile of all the dirty towels in the tub, & I make sure all the dishes we used are wshed & put away. I also clean out the fridge & leave what ever unopened food & drinks we have left over by the vending machines with a note on it saying "going back to reality, enjoy!"

[rocketriter]

We don't clean up much, since post-room cleaning is one of the things we pay for with our dues. We're on vacation. However, we do leave a tip if mousekeeping has done a decent job on their occasional visits while we're there.

[starbox]

We strip the beds/pile towels and leave the sofa-bed unfolded on check-out day & make sure the only things left in the room are in the trash. I travel with Lysol Wipes, so I'll do a quick sweep of surfaces.

We stay in studios. I tip on trash and towel day and on the two occasions where I've checked into a really nice room, I've left a larger tip with a note specifically for the mousekeeper that cleaned it for us at concierge.

I don't always leave a tip when we check out because I've always looked at a tip as a thank you for service received - so trash & towel and the previous cleaner get our tips. Whoever cleans the room after us is cleaning it for the next guest.

[Princess Tink]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that 'cleans up' before leaving....

We too are among the crowd: strip the beds, pile all towels in the bathroom, dispose of all misc papers collected throughout the week, gather trash, clean out the fridge, straighten up furniture.

We do this for 3 reasons:
1. The first and most important, we like to make sure we don't forget anything behind.
2. I don't like people to see my mess....I'm SLIGHTLY O.C.D.!
3. We hope it makes turn around service much faster for the next guest. We've been among those that have had to wait until well after 5PM for our room on a couple occasions.

[50 years Too!]

And my hope is that the more of the "pick up" type stuff we do, the more they might be inclined to do things like clean the sider door glass, dust, etc.

Deb

[SusieStone]

We do the same things people have talked about. I find the more I straighten up, the less likely I am to leave something behind.

Also, even though I am on vacation I try to remember what it is like to walk into a complete mess when I go to work and don't want someone else to go through that. Plus, it is helping teach my child responsibilty.

[javamom]

We placed all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and started it. We had our kids run the sweeper.
I pulled the bedspread off the bed, wiped out the bottom of the tub out, placed the dirty towles in the laundry basket, threw away anything opened and not eaten, and made sure all the trash and recycle was in the bins.

We hoped that by doing these things, it would turn the room over quicker for the next family, so it made us feel good.

[JaxDisneyFans]

We also strip beds and place used towels in the tub. Always leave the sofa bed open if we used it so it's clear that it was used. Load the dishwasher before we leave. We want to make sure we haven't left anything and it's easier to be sure if the room is orderly. Also want to help the next family get in as early as possible.

[DonnaL]

The only thing different we do from all the above is actually take the trash to the trash room rather than leave it in the bins and I don't strip the beds.......if the sofabed has been used we do leave that out and I leave any other beds unmade so it's quite obvious they have been used also....even though during our stay we make them every day....I just can't stand getting into an unmade bed and besides, an unmade bed makes the entire room look messy.......

[Muushka]

We have stayed at Wyndham TS a few times and each time they gave us a sheet with a list of tasks on it that we were required to do, otherwise face a financial penalty. I wonder why DVC does not do this?

[50 years Too!]

Good idea Barb.

[50 years Too!]

Wow, some of you do way more than I do. I do try not to have trash about, wash the dishes, etc.
But, I'm afraid if you clean too well without actually disinfecting, they won't clean the tub, counter, etc.
Thoughts?

Deb

[Muushka]

I don't actually "clean". I tidy up. Meaning when they walk in the door, the trash is gone, there ae no dirty dishes out, they are being washed in the DW. The beds are stripped as are all places where towels hang. The counters are not sparkling, but certainly nothing on them. Hopefully as was mentioned, if they don't have to do all that stuff they can concentrate on the actual cleaning.

Hi Deb :wave:

[dis-happy]

In addition to:

towels in neat pile in tub
dishes in the dishwaster, turn it on
clean out fridge
empty trash can if overflowing from fridge leftovers
leave sofa bed open


We also call housekeeping when we're leaving so they know the room is free to clean. We usually get out of there pretty early in the morning and this prevents housekeeping from knocking on doors HOPING someone has left so they can get started. So, early risers, make sure you call housekeeping!!!

[Uncleromulus]

We tidy up a bit but that's about it. No serious cleaning of any sort--that's what Mousekeeping gets paid to do.

[msabol01]

I also fall into the camp of organize but not clean. I pile towels in on location, usually one bathroom's floor. I will start using the tub, even though most hotels say to just place your dirties on the floor. I will also clear the fridge, run any remaining dishes through the DW, and make sure all trash and recyclibles are in their appropriate container. Maybe I am a cynic, but even if we as members clean, I don't think mousekeeping if going to look at it as an opportunity to do a deeper clean. Rather they will either do their required stuff like sanitize dishes and/or take advantage of your work to ease their day. It is a tough job afterall and their humans.

The exception, last visit my son had a touch of a stomach bug and vomitted in one of the bathrooms. That is beyond any expectation of Mousekeeping, so we cleaned the bathroom and ran the soiled towels through the wash. Also, we had another couple with us and our trash piled up quickly so I ran most of the trash to the trash room.

[photobob]

I see a lot of the same things posted here that I do:

strip the bed, pile of towels, take out the trash, load and start dishwasher, wipe counters and oven, all tables and chairs back in their place, nothing left on the balcony, etc.

I agree that the sooner the mousekeepers are done with their job the sooner the next family can get in there and enjoy!!!

That's our way of thinking also..

[shortypots]

I was a little disappointed that we didn't have some sort of "check out list" provided at the resort. Marriott's I believe provide this so it does make it easier for their housekeeping staff.

One of the other things I think I need to recommend is a donation box for food shelters for any unopened food that people decide not to bring with them. Shelters would love this food, but when we are on vacation, we do not want to have to go and find them.

Folks are also mentioning the recyclables. I do not even remember there being a second garbage bin in the room to collect recyclables separately. I do not even remember having a second garbage bag, and the first one wasn't all that big so with 5 people in a 2bd, it got full fast, especially with the beer drinking that occurred.

As for what we did, we pretty much only cleaned out the fridge, put the dishes in the dishwasher (and turned it on) and left the beds unmade. I guess we are in the boat that if you do not tell us what you want done, we are on vacation so we won't go overboard. We even left the garbage in the room.

[Chuck S]

I don't usually strip the beds, as we usually use them to "collect" everythig that has to go out to the car. ;)

I do wash the dishes, get the trash bags tied up, pile up the towels, clean the fridge and leave the sleeper couch open. as we are usually at Disney for 9 to 10 days at a time, the vacuum usually gets run at least once during our stay.

[marvali]

We make sure all towels/washrags that were used are piled either on the floor or in the tub (if we didn't use the tub/whirlpool, we don't put them there to dirty it up). This gives us one last chance to make sure there isn't anything that belongs to us mixed in to be left behind.

We gather up all trash from counters, tabletops, etc. and put in the trash cans. We will put any dirty dishes in the DW and run it also. We do a number of meals in the room, so we try to keep the counters, etc. wiped down as we go.

We clean out the fridge, and wipe up any messes/spills in the fridge or on the counters. We also leave the sofabed pulled out if used, but we haven't ever stripped the beds, although we will pull up all the covers to provide easy access to see if we are leaving anything behind.

We also try to put any brochures/TV controls/etc. back where we remember finding them when we arrived. And if during our stay we used the iron, vacuum, etc. we put those back where they were.

We will tip if there was any special requests we had during our stay that caused extra effort. This summer will be our first stay long enough to go through TnT service, so we may tip on that day also.

[lagunn]

One of the other things I think I need to recommend is a donation box for food shelters for any unopened food that people decide not to bring with them. Shelters would love this food, but when we are on vacation, we do not want to have to go and find them.




What a brilliant idea.:goodvibes

[Chim Chiminy]

We usually put dishes in dishwasher and turn it on, take out the trash, strip the beds, and pile the towels in the tub. I try to keep the place clean during our stay, it's just DH and I so we don't get it too messy.

Cyndi

Ditto, only we are a family of four and most trips involve uncles or other family.
We leave a tip, usually $1 per person per day.